Abstract
At present there are about 30 claims for wind farms in the German North Sea and Baltic areas. At the final stage, some of these farms may consist of several hundred turbines, each one with a rated power of 3 MW or more. While two medium-sized offshore farms with about 80 turbines each are already existing in Denmark, the first turbine in German waters will probably be erected in 2005.
Both operation and construction of offshore wind turbines induce underwater noise, which is potentially harmful to marine mammals and fishes.